


You drag me closer to life

by Lori_Cifera



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: AU where ryan does unsolved on his own, Horror, M/M, Supernatural!Shane - Freeform, Suspense, shyanexchange2k19, the mothman episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-24 01:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20018080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lori_Cifera/pseuds/Lori_Cifera
Summary: Ryan Bergara looked up at the inn sign, trying to get it in picture with his camera."So, Boogaras, here we are. Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The rumored haunting ground of... The Mothman."He gave his audience an excited smile. "Let's just hope I'll return alive."Ryan Bergara has a small Youtube show. This trip to Point Pleasant to hunt for the fabled Mothman was just supposed to broaden the scope of his show but he will end up finding much more than he ever expected.





	You drag me closer to life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [abovetheruins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/abovetheruins/gifts).



Ryan Bergara looked up at the inn sign, trying to get it in picture.

"So, Boogaras, here we are. Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The rumored haunting ground of... The Mothman."

He stumbled with his script a bit, the rain starting to spot his camera lens.

He started again. "So, here we are. Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Ready to hunt for the Mothman, Boogaras? You wanted it, for, uh to those whose first video this is, Mothman won the poll. 50 000 subscribers, I still can't believe it. Let's just hope I'll return alive."

Deciding it was enough and he could edit it later, he closed his handheld camera and took his luggage.

He didn't have many opportunities to travel, and most of his ghost hunting had taken place in California, in locations close enough to get to by car. He had even skimped on hotel fees and often stumbled into these places exhausted. But he had big plans.

He knew his videos looked good, considering the one-man team and his non-existent budget. That was at least what got people's attention at first. The snappy graphics and relatively fast-paced editing and framing narration got them to give 'Unsolved' a chance. And then they hopefully stayed for the fun and informative way he'd relay his research to the audience. Ryan did know lot of the audience was there to see him get spooked. He did aim to entertain.

But the thing about Ryan Bergara was that he was a true believer in the supernatural.

Now he wasn't stupid. He didn't believe in everything, though he was willing to at least entertain the idea if it sounded interesting. He believed ghosts were real. Aliens too. Atlantis? Maybe it wasn't still around but made sense there was some truth to it. Bigfoot? Maybe, maybe not, he wasn't the biggest believer in it. Mothman?

To be honest he had no idea. But even if he found nothing there was lot of lore to make a video out of.

He tried to get some usable footage of the motel as he dragged his luggage on the gravel.

Before he could open the motel door it was swung open from the inside.

"Welcome!"

Ryan's first thought was 'man he is tall'. The second was 'man, his head is huge'. The third one was 'I wish he stopped grinning at me and blocking the way.'

He stared at the man in the doorway.

"Um."

The man reached to pull his luggage inside. "It's been raining all day."

"Yeah. Well..." Ryan stared at him. "I'm Mister Bergara."

"Yeah."

"I had a room reserved."

The tall man in the ratty jean jacket stared at him.

"So if you want to-" Ryan gestured vaguely.

" _Oh_ , I don't work here. Suzy does. Ask her."

The man waved at the middle aged woman behind the desk. "Hey." He pointed at Ryan. "Ryan Bergara. Reservation."

He walked to get the keys from the reception.

Ryan followed him. "Uh..."

Suzy reached to give the man the keys. "Here you go. A friend of yours?"

Ryan hurried to them. "Nono. I have never met this- So you are..?"

The man turned to him, an apologetic smile on his face. He reached to give him a hand. "Shane. I guess I forgot to introduce myself. I live here."

"I never told you my first name."

"I'm a fan. Of your channel. Sorry. I jumped into things."

"Oh! I..." Ryan took his hand, hoping he'd chalk this to him being exhausted after his trip.

"I liked your Winchester house episode," Shane told him.

"Do you want an... autograph? Also thank you. It was. Phew a- an experience."

"An autograph?" Shane asked. "Sure. But yeah Winchester, loved it. You were freaking out! Your eyes were _huge!_ I was almost worried you'd have a heart attack."

_Please don't try to be in the episode,_ Ryan thought.

Ryan worked alone. He considered it to be a part of his charm. His viewers definitely enjoyed the authenticity of his work. It was just a dude with a camera, going into dark houses and hospitals all alone. He was genuinely terrified, and his audience could tell. Even if the evidence he gathered was less than convincing, people knew he was for real.

Then again, he had been wanting to broaden his horizons, and this was the first time he was traveling on location outside his home state. He could try to make this seem like a proper documentary on this cryptid, and it could include him interviewing the locals...

"He's famous?" Suzy asked, interrupting Ryan's train of thought.

"Yup!" Shane replied.

"Not really." Ryan gave Suzy an apologetic smile. "I have a Youtube channel. Unsolved. 50 056 subscribers."

"Oh that's a lot. You're a proper celebrity then. Here to catch our Mothman?" the woman asked in an overtly sweet way that made Ryan feel a bit mocked.

_I should have told her I was making a documentary. And not specify it was for Youtube._

"Maybe maybe. Hopefully. But for now I think I'll head to my room?"

"Of course."

Shane followed him down the hallway.

Ryan turned to look at him at the door. "Thanks. I appreciate every fan."

Shane gave him an odd look that made Ryan feel ridiculous again.

_It wasn't that weird of a thing to say, right? Oh god did I come across as full of myself? Calling him a 'fan'?_

Shane shrugged. "Okay. Anyway, if you want someone to show you around." He gave him a wink. "I'm available."

Ryan nodded, too exhausted to try to decipher the implications of the wink. "Why not. Can you give me your phone number?"

"I think my phone-" Shane patted his pockets. "It broke. But I can give you a call."

"Night."

Shane smiled. "Good night."

* * *

"Mothman is a cryptozoological creature that is thought to have made its first appearance in 1966," Ryan talked to the camera in his hotel room. "Witnesses have described the creature to be manlike-"

A knock on the door interrupted him. Ryan frowned. Well, it wasn't like this had been anything but narration. He could record it later anyway and slap footage of the forest or something over it.

"Let's hope that's not the men in black-" he reached to turn the camera off. He popped back into the view. "No, seriously, if I disappear without a trace, avenge me."

He walked to the door. "Oh. You."

Shane stepped into the room, not waiting for an invitation. "Hi, you started filming already?"

"Yes. In fact you ruined the shot." Ryan rubbed his forehead. "It's fine."

Shane looked at him. "So I figured we could start by getting some footage around the town. Maybe get some dinner at some point. They sell all kinds of Mothman cookies and all here. It's a regular mothmania, baby."

"Don't call me baby."

"Sorry, _bro_."

Ryan stared at him. He really didn't like how pushy Shane (he realized he didn't even know his last name) was. But he was a fan, or something like a fan anyway, and Ryan had never really met a real fan of his in real life and it was sort of flattering. More than just little bit if he was honest. And besides, he could use a guide. Ryan had done research beforehand, and watched the Richard Gere movie, but-

"No I was just. You know what, I'm ready to go. So just let me get my things..."

* * *

"This is mine," Shane reached to the last piece of pizza.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah sure. Why not."

Shane grinned, munching on the Mothman pizza Ryan had paid for. "Don't be like that. Look at this Pizza Mothman's beady little eyes. He looks like _you_."

"Okay so are there any hotspots of Mothman activity?" Ryan asked. "Or some lesser-known places? Possible portals or vortexes?"

Shane rolled his eyes. "Portals? That's dumb."

"Or, you know- Anything that'd make for a good-"

Shane looked up from his food and looked behind Ryan. His face lighted up.

Ryan turned around to see the source of this reaction. "What?"

"Oh, that! I remember that!" Shane gestured at the wooden cut-out of Mothman. "Look it has a hole where you can peek out! You should go there and I'll get some footage of you!"

"Why?"

Shane shrugged. "Well then you'd at least have some footage of Mothman."

"Thanks for having faith in me. I'm going to bag myself a real mothman."

"I'm sure you will. But this will be a fun bit."

Ryan found himself pushed towards the cut-out and, resigned, took a spot behind it.

"I could explain what the Mothman is I guess- for- for the audience," he said, awkwardly. "Hey be careful with my camera."

"Relax, it's in good hands," Shane said, casually turning the expensive brand-new camera around far too carelessly for Ryan's comfort. "Okay, gimme fierce, gimme sexy-"

"I am looking for the Mothman I don't expect to be- He's a moth! Or maybe some kinda demon!"

"Could be a _sexy_ moth demon."

Deciding to ignore that Ryan took on an overtly serious narrator voice, while peering from the face-hole of a Mothman-picture holding a pint of beer: "It is said Mothman makes a high-pitched noise that resembles a record being played, perhaps to attract a mate-"

Shane snorted. "Okay. Make the Moth-call."

"Why? It's enough I can recognize it."

"Yeah, but. You may want to attract a mothman to you. Plus it will be a fun bit."

Awkwardly, Ryan made a squeaking noise.

"You can do better than that. Try inhaling. Like, make the sound by-"

"Squuuuek?"

Shane shook his head. "Try again, this time less like a dying pig-"

"Okay this is fine. Cut." Ryan stepped back from behind the picture giving a guilty look at the other few patrons in the pizzeria.

"You're not gonna attract a hot sexy Mothman with that attempt," Shane told him. "Not even Mothman's less sexy cousin."

"Yes, well I'm fine with that, then," Ryan almost snapped at him.

Shane just grinned.

* * *

"So, you got your footage of the Mothman!"

Ryan nodded, trying to get a better angle on the statue. "I have to admit I didn't expect him to look quite so... Super-hero-like. He has knee-pads."

"I can almost look him eye-to-eye," Shane pointed out. He looked at Ryan as if to expect a reaction. "Get it? It was a tall joke."

"Cool."

"Did you see the ass?" Shane pointed at the statue. "Be sure to get a good pic of that. Make it the thumbnail of your vid."

"I'm not going to sink that low for clickba- Oh it IS a very- uh- Well-defined ass. Oh my god is Mothman one of those monsters people on the Internet want to fuck?"

"Who wouldn't?"

"No!" Ryan laughed. "It's- it's like a weird creature!"

"You saying you wouldn't fuck Mothman?"

"Would _you?_ "

Shane shrugged. "I'd give him a chance."

Ryan wondered if he was dropping hints he might be into men. Or maybe he was reading too much into it. Shane did have a certain kinda dorky rat-like charm.

_What the hell he is attractive,_ Ryan admitted to himself. _Just too bad about his personality._

* * *

"Alright so this is the McClintic Wildlife Management Area," Ryan narrated in the car, hoping Shane would know to keep his mouth shut. "This is the main area, this is where it all started."

They got out of the car and Ryan pulled on his reflective vest.

Shane laughed. "You look ridiculous."

"Well at least I won't be shot."

Ryan tried to get footage of the woods. "So, this is close to one of the spots the Mothman was spotted."

It had felt like a good idea to bring Shane along. Ryan wasn't terribly concerned with being attacked by the Mothman but dark woods were still dark woods. There probably were weird humans, and snakes, and possibly ghosts.

"So," Ryan aimed the camera at Shane. "Why don't you introduce yourself and talk a bit about your relationship to the Mothman. I mean, uh if you ever saw him, if you think it's real, OK?"

Shane waved at the camera. "Hi. My name is Shane. I think this is all bullshit."

"Okay, thanks."

"Ghosts aren't real, Ryan. And neither are big... Moths."

"I think he's called Mothman..." Ryan started, "not because he looks like a giant moth, a giant moth would have like almost a butterfly-y wings? Right?"

Shane crossed his arms. "He doesn't have butterfly wings?"

"He looks kind of more like... uh... Like, like Batman's wings... Not a moth..."

"Well then they shouldn't call him the Mothman!"

"Well take it up with whoever made it up!" Ryan snapped.

"So," Shane ignored his tone. "I think it'd be a fun bit, where we make fun of the Mothman you know, as a name. We could suggest better ones."

"I take it under consideration," Ryan said in a tone that absolutely implied he wasn't going to do that.

"It'd be nice to have a set for doing banter, we could cut back to it-" Shane gave him a sudden panicked look. "I got confused, sorry."

"It's fine," Ryan lied.

"No, it's not.” Shane suddenly sounded desperate. “I'm not great with people sometimes. I got so carried away, meeting my idol, I've thought of kinda. These things I'd say to you, if I ever met you. I got carried away."

"Idol? I have. 50 000 subs on Youtube," Ryan pointed out. "On _Youtube_. I mean it had felt like a lot when I was at 100 but it's not really enough to pay the bills-"

"You could have more," Shane told him. "I'm not kidding, you have potential."

"Thanks."

Shane set a hand on Ryan's shoulder. Ryan shook him off.

Shane laughed again, a sound Ryan was starting to hate. He tried to turn away.

Long fingers touched his shoulder.

"Baby, don't be like that-"

Ryan froze. He turned to Shane.

Shane gave him an odd look. A shiver ran on Ryan's back.

_Fuck he's a stalker._

He had been throwing red flags around for a while now. Ryan tried to evaluate how things would go if it turned into a physical confrontation. Shane was taller but he also looked like a twig.

Suddenly Ryan was very aware they were alone on a field, and it was getting dark.

_One good punch and then run. If he tries anything._

"I just. Feel like I know you."

He had the nerve to sound hurt.

Ryan looked him in the eye. "Well you don't. I get... I get it, you see me in my videos, and it is all real, it is all- all me but it's just a part of me. We never spoke. You can't..."

"I fucked up." Shane's eyes widened. "Nonono how can... It's _gone_."

Ryan took a step back. "Okay! So we have everything we need right here! Let's go back-"

Shane grabbed his arm. "Wait!"

Upon seeing the look on Ryan's face he let go. "I- You don't understand."

They stared at each other.

"So, I think you can probably walk home, yeah? Yeah, yeah you can." Ryan opened the car door.

"Fun talk, great, this was fun! Bye!"

He drove away, leaving Shane stand alone in the field.

* * *

Ryan slept badly, waking up to nightmares of shadows grasping at him and grinning faces in the window. He got up several times to make sure Shane wasn't hiding in the bathroom. He moved the chair in front of the locked door just in case.

So he was feeling miserable in the morning, his head throbbing, when his phone rang.

He lifted it up and maybe it was just his imagination but it had looked like it had gone directly into a call-

"I'm sorry."

Ryan tensed at the voice coming from the phone. Shane.

He closed the call and set the phone on the desk.

In hindsight Ryan should have asked something like- "How did you get my number?" but he had panicked.

The phone rang again.

Ryan stared at it. Well now he couldn't sound cool even if he did answer. Not that he should.

He was overreacting.

The old hotel landline rang.

Ryan pulled the electric chord off the wall. Like he had feared the old phone continued to ring. Well this had squarely passed into a horror movie territory.

Ryan stared at the ringing phone. Maybe he was just being paranoid. Maybe these things could still work for a while without being plugged in? This was probably just a joke.

Ryan Bergara believed in demons and ghosts with all his heart.

But he also believed in humans being terrible.

This might have just been a stalker. Just. But at least he could deal with a human.

But, if it was a ghost, or even a demon, he had gone looking for it.

Ryan clicked his camera on. If he was about to get his soul sucked through a phone he was going to get it on video.

He was terrified.

But he had to know. When he had been a teenager he had had a paranormal experience and witnessed a ghost throwing a tube of toothpaste across a cabin. He had been afraid of ghosts ever since. But it had also awakened something in him. The desire to seek out more things like that.

The yearning for the unknown.

And now he had found _something_.

_I really should just ignore it._

He reached for the receiver.

"Ryan Bergara speaking."

"We need to talk. There has been a misunderstanding."

"Oh? Oh has there?" Ryan was aware of how high his voice suddenly sounded. "Because that would imply there has been an understanding of some kind and I have no idea what I'm even thinking about. No 'understanding' of any kind is happening here!"

Without warning, a screech came through the phoneline. Ryan dropped the receiver.

He was in danger.

He took his camera and his small bag and ran.

The lobby was empty. No receptionist.

Ryan stumbled out to the abandoned street. His car- Where was his car?

A fear gripped him.

Danger.

Ryan wasn't going to stay. He chose a direction and started running.

If he stayed on the road everything would be fine. He kept jogging, increasingly aware of some sort of a presence behind him. He kept his gaze forward.

Listening to his sneakers hitting the gravel.

_Crunch._

_Crunch._

_Crunch._

The rhythmic beat steadied his nerves.

Was he really going to just run away?

He felt like throwing up. The air felt wrong around him. Like something behind him was pulling at him-

Ryan focused.

_Ryan Bergara if you are going to get killed by something you should stare it in the eye. Get some footage._

He turned around. And screamed.

The thing following him wasn't flying. That would imply some kind of a natural movement.

Its large dark wings were simply spread and it glided through the air like a computer glitch come to life. Even the light coming from its two red eyes didn't feel like real light. They didn't emanate light, instead being like two holes poked in the air on the vaguely humanoid creature's chest.

It shrieked.

"Fuck!"

Ryan turned around and fled with newfound adrenaline-driven strength.

Mothman. He had found the fucking Mothman. He would be killed by the fucking Mothman!

He spotted a small path into the forest and took it in the vague hope the monster wouldn't be able to follow him.

He realized his mistake as soon as the first branches hit him in the face.

But it was too late to turn back now.

Maybe he'd get lucky and be eaten alive by the coyotes instead-

Suddenly something gave under his foot and he stumbled in the undergrowth. And he fell-

Down down down into the dark-

Everything stopped. Ryan was surrounded by what felt like dry leaves. The scent of pop corn. He was weightless.

And then, without warning, had his nose buried in a jean jacket.

"Umh!"

Ryan struggled free from the crying man. Shane seemed unwilling to let go at first but suddenly pulled away and Ryan stumbled.

"Are you all right?" Shane asked. "I couldn't _see_ you- I fucked up so bad, man-"

Ryan shook his head. "I saw-"

He looked around. He was in the motel room. Desperately, he clung onto the fact his clothes were muddy as proof for it all being real.

Although what he had seen had sure felt like a hallucination. Was he on drugs?

"It's all muddy now!"

Shane stood up to circle the room. "It was so certain, and I was seeing it so well but everything I've been doing has just taken me further away for it." He gave Ryan a look. "You're bit of a frustrating man, Ryan Bergara. But then again I remember liking that about you."

"What the fuck is going on? What the fuck are you?" Ryan pulled out a flask. "Come no closer!"

Shane looked fond, oddly enough. "Holy water? You really did take holy water with you on a Mothman hunt? Ryan, I'm not a demon. People did think so- No I should say under some circumstances it might have happened... You can put the holy water away."

"That's exactly what a demon would say!" Ryan argued.

A squirt of water hit Shane square in the face.

Shane stared at him, no worse for the wear except slightly damper. "Happy now?"

"Sorry. Itchy trigger finger."

"It's fine."

"Nonono nothing 'it's fine' about this! Are you the Mothman? I can't believe I'm asking you this it sounds so- Are you Mothman's friend?"

"Yes. Yes to the me being the Mothman part."

Ryan stared at him. "You're the Mothman."

"I'm the Mothman."

Shane wiggled his fingers. "Boo."

"But you were- What the fuck-"

Shane sit on the bed. "This isn't going like I thought it would."

Ryan's mouth lobbed open. As if Shane had any right to be- to be frustrated or confused!

"You! Mothman? Fucking Mothman?"

"Yes, we have established this. To be fair you were pretty skeptical when you first-"

An unreadable emotion flashed on his face.

"When I first what?"

Shane shook his head, looking miserable. "I misspoke. I can't just- If I tell you everything it will be all ruined."

"What? Do you need me to save the world?"

"What? No. This isn't a-"

"Okay-"

"Ryan why would I need you to save the world?"

"Shut up!"

"This isn't a movie, Ryan."

"Well my apologies! I think I am allowed to have a- have some hope this will be some kinda 'you're a wizard chosen one Ryan' moment here!" Ryan sat next to him. "Didn't you say everything was ruined anyway?"

"It... is."

"Then just- fucking talk to me. It- it can't get extra ruined, can it?"

"But-"

"Listen, I have had a long day, I just really want it straight now."

Shane nodded. "Okay. So, you know about the thing about the Mothman seeing the future?"

"I did see Mothman Prophecies in preparation to this trip, yea. Okay so you see the future?"

"Not exactly. I'm a multi-dimensional being." Shane waved at his body. "This all is- it's not a human body. It's just a part of me. Imagine like... You poking a hand through a curtain to play a hand puppet. The hand is still you but just a part of you and you see things behind the curtain."

Ryan poked his shoulder.

"Ouch."

Ryan poked him harder.

"So..." Shane continued, deciding to apparently ignore the poking- "Don't, by the way, expect me to explain the science behind it."

"What, my human brain too tiny to comprehend it?"

"I mostly dozed off during health class back at home."

"Ah. Of course. There's more of you? Moth family? Moth mom?"

"Yeah, sure. I don't know all of them. But- I could see things."

For a second there Ryan had felt calm, the sheer ridiculousness of this taking the edge off somewhat. But the raw emotion in Shane's voice made him worry.

Shane looked forward, and Ryan wondered if he was avoiding his eyes.

"I can see possible futures, let's just say that. And I saw a future. For us."

"Nnnn-hhh."

"It's like having memories, almost. And these were so clear, I forgot they hadn't happened yet. And now they never would. Because I fucked up."

"W-what kind of memories?"

"I- I met you here, we worked together on the episode, we had- we had chemistry. There are a few ways this could have happened but we- we became friends. I moved to LA and with the two of us Unsolved grew... it became a big hit. And I- it was funny, actually, there was this joke amongst our fans that I was a demon. You never suspected. I don't think- I don't think you did, really. We..."

He stopped and Ryan wondered if he himself remembered anything. If there had been a deja-vu somewhere along the line.

Or if this was just good old regular sexual attraction.

"We were friends, then? Ryan Bergara and his Moth buddy? Finding ghosts, bagging ghouls..."

"I never told you."

Was it regret in his voice?

"We were more than friends."

"Ah."

"There are a few separate paths I saw... They're pretty difficult to remember now... Some things are clearer. Then there are contextless memories like- this is going to sound weird-”

“Oh cool, _now_ it's gonna get weird.”

“I vaguely remember hotdogs... And a lesbian corn.”

Ryan stared at him. “Yeah you were right it did get even weirder.”

“But some things are- were clear. Like they were inevitable.” He let out a mirthless laugh. “I guess not so inevitable then. But we were always a perfect fit. There were several ways things might have turned out though... In one possibility we lived old together, I watched you die in a hospital, our daughters at your side. But I still never told you. What I was."

Ryan made a noise. "D-daughters?"

"Hm."

"You never told me! We had- had _kids_ together and you didn't tell me you weren't a human?"

"Hey you're accusing a- potential timeline Shane. Who will never exist now. I refuse to be responsible for potentially-existing Shane's crimes."

"Can you turn into the- thing. The shadowy thing?"

"I could."

"Would it fry my brain?"

"It tends to make humans run. Possibly nauseous."

"Show me. I think. I need to see it. This all so weird I need to see it again to know I wasn't-”

Shane stood up. And then there was more of him.

Ryan felt like he was looking at one of those magic eye pictures. Except it was the world around the other human- other person- _creature_ \- getting out of focus and unfolding.

**It might be easier to try to not focus on my human form.**

Ryan blinked, and the resemblance to a human was gone. He stood up shakily.

"Nh. I see."

He struggled to find something else to say. Something memorable. This was a momentous occasion. First Contact.

"Huh."

It wasn't that the creature was dark, it seemed. More that the wings were in some way more solid that anything he had ever seen before. Ryan thought of a black hole. Maybe this was what being near a black hole was like? Maybe the movies had lied to him.

"Your eyes. I'm not- you had these red eyes."

**Dude you look like you're going to freak out any moment now anyway-**

"I don't!" Ryan squeaked.

Two red holes opened up in the air.

Ryan stared into them.

It was like being put under a microscope. Immersed in the pure emotion of Being Watched.

You were being _noticed._

In a way you had never ever been in your life.

It was terrifying in the best way possible.

"I think I just... flipped a switch in my head. Just went crazy. I'm quite calm now."

**People always thought-thinks-will think you were-was-is-always will be a coward-**

The voice vibrated in the air. No. The world around them folded to make words appear. It occurred to Ryan he didn't hear it just with his ears. It was like he was trying to desperately understand the meaning beamed into him as human words and concepts. More he thought of it the less he understood what had been said. The concepts of time in this alien grammar were beyond his understanding.

It felt like the creature focused at Ryan. There was a connection of some kind. An effort was made from its part.

**You always jumped straight into danger.**

The tone, if Ryan could call it that was... Fond.

**You were always the brave one.**

"Can I touch you?"

**Yes.**

Ryan stepped forward and reached his hand to the form. It felt more like trying to push against a force than a solid object. He was reminded of the times he had played with magnets as a child, trying to force the repelling poles together. An odd tingling feeling ran through his arm, making the hairs on it stand.

The wings, or something- no some new parts of him- his other wings? Wrapped around Ryan. He felt himself lifted up, lost in the experience. It felt obvious somehow now. He mimed kissing against the experience around him.

"You're... You-"

There was slight force applied to the nape of his neck and Ryan moaned.

Of course.

Of course he would know all the right places to touch him already.

" **Do you want to go on?** "

His voice was almost back to the human one. Ryan wondered if it took effort.

"You need to ask?"

" **I... I do. I can't see anything except you now. The present you. Right here.** "

"Fucking welcome to the rest of us. I mean-"

"I got it."

The form holding him was human-like once more. Except when Ryan focused he could almost see something more within the form holding him.

Hidden depths.

Shane wrapped his long arms around him. "I think. I want to try to-"

"Pretend to be human?"

"This is just a part of me, but it's still all real. It's still me."

Ryan reached a hand to stroke the stubble on his chin. "I got so so many questions. Are you going to kidnap me? To your flying saucer?"

Shane gave him a look. "No. Unless you want to. I can't. See anything except the present now it's... Weird." He gave a nervous giggle. "It's weird, Ryan."

Ryan pulled him into a kiss.


End file.
